Abstract
The Man and the Girl
is a novel by Junnosuke Yoshiyuki which was published in 1958. The purpose of
this paper is the following six points:
(1) To review the previous discourses on The Man and the Girl
;
(2) To analyze Yoshiyukiʼs short story
Skin and Mind as a prototype for The Man and the Girl
;
(3) To compare Yoshiyukiʼs Skin and Mind
and Osamu Dazaiʼs Skin and Mind;
(4) To clarify the elements of “Watakushi-shousetsu” (the direct experiences of the author) in
The Man and the Girl;
(5) To reveal the theme of
The Man and the Girl;
(6) To clarify the relationship between the theme and Yoshiyukiʼs ethics as a writer belonging to the
“Sentyuu-shousuuha” (wartime minority).
The theme of The Man and the Girl is to depict the way of life of the Japanese after the defeat of Japan in World War II, from the point of view of the dead friends before and after the defeat of Japan. The
conclusion of this paper is as follows :The heroine of this novel is going to survive in the Japanese society
after the defeat. The author finally affirms her way of life. It reflects Yoshiyukiʼs ethics as a writer
belonging to the “wartime minority”.
